GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — A unique from of transportation is coming to West Michigan - a market smaller than its typical target. A local college student is starting an electric scooter business in Grand Haven next month.
Collin Reenders, a Hope College student from Grand Haven, started Wave Co. LC in late May. He wanted to find a solution to the dense summer traffic in the city.
“I love Grand Haven, and I would love to see issues I faced as a kid, [like] walking 35 minutes to the beach, solved,” Reenders said.
The initial rollout of the project will include 30 scooters, or “Waves.” Customers will rent them out at docks where they will pay an initial fee and be charged per minute.
“Those docks will be placed at strategic places to help those individuals get around town,” Reenders said. “This new dock approach will eliminate a lot of liability aspect and nuisance of these scooters.”
The scooter docks will be located throughout the city, including at the courthouse, Mulligan's Hollow and City Beach. In order to stop paying, riders must dock the scooters.
"It's my job to balance these scooters and ensure there are always scooters at zones for people to ride," Reenders said.
Reenders brought the idea to the Grand Haven City Council a few months ago, and it was formally approved this week.
The trend was on its way, and the city is trying to embrace it the right way, Pat McGinnis, the Grand Haven city manager said.
“We're just grateful we have a local face on it; someone we know, someone we can communicate with and hopefully promote so it will grow beyond Grand Haven," McGinnis said.
Reenders expects his order of scooters to come in next week and open business to the public in early July.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.